Death by Asphyxiation
by JubilantDork
Summary: For everyone else in Flaky's life, love was the best thing in the world. But for her, it was suffocating, anxiety-inducing, and scary. However, the small moments she could share with Flippy was what made it all worth it. Flaky would be happy with living the rest of her life like this. But fate had other plans.
1. Chapter 1

If you had asked Flaky to list what she liked about Flippy, she wouldn't be able to stop. The way he always hung at the back of the group, the creases around his eyes when he smiles, his warm hands, his deep voice, his soft laughter, the list was endless. In comparison, there was nothing Flaky could think of, that was interesting about her. She was a slow runner, worried about everything, cried on a daily basis, forgot things on a regular basis, and shoots quills from her hair whenever she has a freak-out session. The amount of time Flaky had nearly stabbed Flippy in the eye with her quills was ungodly, but he always forgave her and went to pluck them out of his hand in the bathroom. To this day, Flaky still couldn't believe they were friends.

Flaky jolted out of her thoughts when she was nudged by her friend, Petunia. "Wakey wakey, Flaky." Petunia said in a sing-song voice, and Flaky turned back in her seat to offer the other an embarrassed smile. Petunia was her closest friend ever since preschool. They had met in the sandbox, and Flaky instantly felt a connection when Petunia joined in building a sandcastle. However, they didn't hit it off until they both realized they were walking home in the same direction, and Petunia invited her into her house which was right beside Flaky's. It was such a rare coincidence, but Flaky felt fortunate enough to have been able to hold onto their friendship for so long.

"Sorry," Flakey said in her usual small voice. "Were you thinking about _him_ again?" Petunia asked with a raise of an eyebrow, and Flaky blushed as red as the color of her hair, "N-No—"

Just then, the door to the classroom opened, and a group of boys walked in, laughing and talking loudly. The last to walk in the door was Flippy, and Flaky felt her chest seize up, and the quills in her hair start to rise. The boy's conversations faded into background noise, and the only thing Flaky could focus on was Flippy's hunched frame with his hands in his pockets and a smile adorning his face. He pressed the side of his fist against his lips to muffle a laugh at something the boys said, and Flaky felt herself smiling. Then, Flippy glanced over at Flaky's direction and made direct eye contact with her. Flaky broke it just as quickly and pressed her flushed face against the cold surface of the table, ignoring Petunia's attempts to get her attention.

"Hey, psst! Flaky." Petunia whispered loudly behind her, and Flaky chose to ignore the other's calls. That was until—

"Hey."

Flaky jerked her head up to see Flippy sitting in the chair directly in front of him, resting his arms on the back of the chair with a smile on his face. "I tried to warn you." Petunia whispered behind her, and Flaky felt the heat rise up her neck. "How are you?" Flippy asked with a tilt of his head, and Flaky felt the quills in her hair straighten painfully. Oh no, at this rate her quills will…

"You're in my seat."

They both looked to see a boy with bright green hair that had candy wrappers and lollipops stuck in it, and an eyepatch rested over his left eye. "Oh, sorry dude." Flippy said as he rose up and moved to the side so the other could sit down. He flashed Flaky one last smile before going back to his seat, and Flaky hid her face in her hair.

During class, Flaky's heart was still jittering in her chest. Flippy's smile was burned into her memory, and she couldn't shake off the shock that the other was smiling _at her_. Flaky felt the corners of her lips twitching, and Flaky quickly covered her mouth.

There was the sound of rustling, and Flaky glanced in front of her to see the boy with the eyepatch, putting something into a plastic bag hanging by the side of his desk. He reached into his pocket and took out a candy wrapper before unwrapping it, the crinkling sound interrupting the teacher during his lecture. "Nutty, what did I tell you about snacks in class?"

The boy, Nutty, shrugged as he popped the pink-colored candy into his mouth, "'Dunno." He said in a slightly muffled speech, before dropping the wrapper into the plastic bag that was already filled to the brim. Flaky continued staring at his back. How strange.

After class, Petunia was the first one out of her seat with her bags and books already packed, "Come on, let's go!" She piped out, tugging Flaky who was hurrying to put her stuff away.

They both made their way to their woodwork class and ended up being one of the first ones to arrive. They saw their teacher, Handy, writing stuff on the blackboard, holding the marker in his mouth. He glanced back and smiled when he saw Flaky and Petunia, "Oh, hello girls!" He said although it was muffled by the marker. Handy was a young teacher who had to get both his arms amputated after a construction accident, which he only told them about once and never again. Despite having no arms, he still managed to persuade the principal to hire him as a woodwork teacher after the last one retired and, much to the school's dismay, he was given the job. Handy was good at his job, and there were many things he could do despite missing limbs, and Flaky always found that quite remarkable. That, plus the fact that he wasn't too bad looking made him one of the most popular teachers in the school.

"Hi, teacher," Petunia said while twirling her ponytail. She only did that when she got nervous. Flaky smiled as she watched her friend's blushing face, and followed the other further into the room to get ready for class.

"Alright everyone, today we're going to pick out the wood for our cutting boards. You may choose up to three types of wood. Once you've selected the ones you'd like, come see me at the cutting station." Handy explained while gesturing everything with his stump arms. Flaky glanced at Petunia and giggled before nudging the other, bringing her back to reality.

Flaky only took woodworks class because Petunia had persuaded her. She was actually terrified of heavy machinery since she was naturally clumsy and any slip could result in losing a finger or a hand. Flaky was gazing at the different types of the wood laid on the table and marveled at the deep colors and shapes of the rings on each stump. "Hey Pet—"Flaky glanced over to find the space beside her empty. She looked around for the other before seeing Petunia going tentatively towards Handy, who was sitting down and trying to wrap the bandages around his stump arms.

"Uhm…Teacher," Petunia called in a soft voice while tucking some hair behind her ear. Handy looked up with part of the bandage still between his teeth. He released it and straightened up, "Oh, yes Petunia? Sorry, this stupid thing comes off now and then." He said while gesturing to the bandages that were already coming loose. "I could help you if that's alright." Petunia offered, and Handy looked at her with wide eyes before smiling just as broadly, "Really? That'd be great, thanks!" He held his arms out towards Petunia without hesitation, and Petunia sat down on the chair across from him. Flaky watched her friend tie the bandages around Handy with face flushed bright red, and she hid her giggle behind her hand.

After class, Petunia couldn't stop gushing about it. "I was so close to him, and I got to touch his cute stump arms a little," She squealed while covering her flushed face, and Flaky giggled as they walked down the hall. "You're such a pervert." Flaky teased, and Petunia was about to retort until two boys walked past them. Flaky stopped suddenly and stared at their backs before her face lit up, "Lifty!" She called. One of the boys turned back and smiled wide, "Flaky!" He glanced back at his twin brother, Shifty, "Go ahead without me." Shifty shrugged before continuing on his way, and Lifty walked over to Flaky, his large, green raccoon tail swaying behind him.

Lifty and Flaky had also been friends since childhood. It had happened when Shifty took one of Flaky's toys while everyone was playing in the daycare, and Flaky only stopped crying when Lifty got the toy back from his brother and gave it Flaky. Lifty seemed like the complete opposite of his brother: he was caring, considerate, and hated stealing. Despite that, Flaky still didn't understand why Lifty always stuck so close to his brother. She didn't remember a time where she didn't find them together.

"It's been so long, how was your summer?" Lifty asked, and Flaky replied, "It was okay. I was just helping my mom and dad around the house and stuff, what about you?" The two of them continued engaging in friendly conversation, along with Petunia who joined in. It was unfortunate that they weren't all in the same class, but Lifty always requested to be in the same classes as Shifty, and vice versa.

After a while of being in the halls, Lifty checked his phone and gave an apologetic smile, "Sorry, I should head back now. I'll text you, okay?" He gestured with a texting motion, and Flaky nodded.

"It's so weird how Lifty and Shifty are always together." Petunia stated as they headed to the cafeteria to buy their lunch. "Well, they are brothers. I'm sure they just really care about each other." Flaky said and took a melon pan and placed it her tray which was already pre-organized with a bowl of rice, soup, and salmon. As she waited for Petunia to pick her food, Flaky tried to look for a place where they could sit. Despite lunch time just starting, the tables were already filled with students talking and laughing loudly. "Ugh, it's so stuffy here." Petunia grimaced as she joined Flaky in the search for a table. They walked through the crowds of people, making sure to protect their tray all the while. Flaky stopped short when she noticed an empty table—well, almost empty. There was one person sitting in it. Tilting her head, Flaky stared at the individual whose back was towards her. She recognized the hair with candy wrappers stuck in it. The person was eating stacks of donuts in a plastic container, along with a piece of strawberry cake from the cafeteria.

"Flaky!"

Flaky turned her attention to the front and nearly stopped breathing when she saw Flippy waving towards her. "Come on!" Petunia said and dragged Flaky towards Flippy and his table of friends. Flaky glanced back at Nutty one last time as she was being taken away. "Alright guys, get off." Flippy said as he shooed two of his friends off the seat. They grumbled in annoyance but seemed subdued when Petunia thanked them. For some reason, Flaky was placed next to Flippy while Petunia sat on her opposite side. The distance between Flippy and her shoulder was so small, that Flaky was sure the other could feel the heat radiating from her body. Nevertheless, Flaky tried to focus on her meal and stuffed some salmon and rice into her mouth.

"Did you guys try that new shooter game that just came out?" One of the boys at the table asked, and many of them let out hoots of agreement. "It's so fast-paced, and you get to choose from so many guns like," The boy pretended to hold a gun and squinted towards Flippy, "Bang, bang, bang!"

From the corner of her eye, Flaky saw Flippy stiffen, and his breathing start becoming labored. "F-Flippy…" Flaky whispered to the other in a soft and reassuring voice. Thankfully, that did that trick, and Flippy took deep breaths before smiling down at Flaky. "Thanks." He whispered back, and Flaky blushed before shaking her head.

Despite not knowing much about Flippy, she knew that his father had served in the military during the Vietnam War, and lost his life in battle. Thus, anything war or weapon-related tended to trigger Flippy. The first time Flaky had seen the other snap…It wasn't pretty. It hurt Flaky to see the other in that much pain and be reminded of such trauma, so she tried to be there for him whenever she could. If Flaky could only be a means of support in Flippy's life, she'd be happy with that.

After they were done eating, Flaky was getting ready to leave with Petunia until Flippy stopped her, "Could I talk to you in private?" He asked, and Flaky felt several quills in her hair stand on end. She glanced at Petunia who shoved a thumbs-up in her direction. "S-sure!" Flaky's voice cracked, and she quickly covered her mouth while Petunia silently lost it in the background. Thankfully, Flippy didn't seem to notice, or pay any mind to it, and gestured for Flaky to follow him.

They stopped in a secluded area right below the stairs, and Flaky fiddled with her skirt nervously. Flippy, for some reason, also seemed nervous and scratched the back of his neck while glancing around. "So…I was wondering…"Flippy spoke slowly, and Flaky wondered for a second if the other had caught onto her feelings for him. However, she never could have predicted the result,

"Would you like to come to the lantern festival with me this weekend?"

Flaky looked up at Flippy with wide eyes; she tucked some hair behind her ears to make sure she hadn't misheard, "Eh?"

"The lantern festival…Wanna go together?" Flippy asked with a weary smile, and Flaky continued staring for far too long, before an embarrassingly large smile broke out on her face, "Yes!" She exclaimed. Flippy seemed taken aback for a moment before he pressed the side of his fist against his lips to stifle a laugh that leaked out anyways. Flaky joined him in happy giggles. Despite the anxiety-inducing fears that threatened Flaky on a daily basis, she wanted to stay in this exciting rollercoaster for a while longer.


	2. Chapter 2

"He said WHAT?!" Petunia exclaimed. Her voice caused a dog to start barking at them from behind a fence, and Flaky hurried to bring her friend to the other side of the street. "Be quiet!" Flaky gestured with a finger over her lips, and Petunia asked, "He asked you to the lantern festival? You're positive?" Flaky blushed before nodding, and Petunia let out a high-pitched squeal that set off the dog again, "Oh my God, Flaky!" She gushed while taking hold of her friend's hands and shaking them in earnest. "I'm so happy for you!" Flaky felt her cheeks begin to hurt from just how long she was smiling, and she could only nod in agreement.

"Oh my God, we need to hurry and pick out your yukata! The festival is tomorrow!" Petunia gasped and pulled Flaky with her along to the nearest clothing store. They searched around various stores for what seemed like hours, before one finally caught Flaky's eye: it was a soft red with a sakura flower pattern and a yellow obi that had a white flower clipped to it. She examined it in awe and Petunia glanced over at her face lit up, "This one then?" Before Flaky even had a chance to respond, her friend was pushing her into the changing room to try it on. Petunia closed the door behind her and helped Flaky get into the yukata before tying the obi snugly around her stomach. Petunia's tail wagged excitedly behind her all the while. After much fidgeting around and Flaky crying out from getting her hair caught in the fabric, Petunia stepped back to look at her masterpiece.

"You look ready to steal all the hearts of the boys in the city," Petunia said with a wink, and Flaky flushed before shaking her head quickly. The only boy's attention Flaky wanted was Flippy's.

"Come on, let's go pick out some sandals." With that, Petunia dragged Flaky to the rest of the stores down the block. Flaky didn't get a chance to breathe until she got home, which was later in the night. She flopped down on the mattress of her bed with the bags containing the yukata and sandals, as well as several hair accessories Petunia got along the way. Holding the bags close to her chest, Flaky tried to imagine what tomorrow night would look like. What if things got awkward? What if one of them gets an upset stomach in the middle of the night and has to rush home? Would they get to hold hands?

Flaky let out a pathetic squeak and covered her beet-red face before rolling around on the bed. Even the mere thought of it was enough to throw her mind for a loop. The only thing Flaky needed to focus on was not passing out on the date and completely embarrassing herself. Either or. Wait, was this considered a date?

Flaky waited by the entrance of the site where the festival was to be held. She held onto her small draw-string bag while looking around for Flippy. She ended up arriving twenty-minutes early, but that was probably a good thing. It gave Flaky time to clear her mind before the other came.

Flaky stumbled back in surprise when a group of children ran past her to enter through the gate, and when Flaky looked back up, she felt her throat seize up. Flippy was amongst the crowd just crossing the street. She noticed the other stop amongst the crowd, and Flaky realized that Flippy was trying to look for her.

"U-Uhm…" Flaky tried to wave to get his attention, but her short height caused her hand to go dismissed, as well as the softness of her voice. "F-Flippy…" Flaky tried calling as loudly as she could, but the roar of the crowd drowned out her voice easily. Just then, Flaky noticed Flippy begin to follow the crowd through the gates. Out of sheer panic, Flaky pushed past the swarm of people, apologizing to those she accidentally pricked along the way, before finally getting to Flippy. Without thinking, Flaky grabbed the other by the front of his shirt, "F-Flippy!" Flaky gasped out the other's name, clearly exhausted from the ordeal to get to him. Flippy looked down at her before his eyes widened, and a blush crept up his neck and ears, "Flaky?" Flaky nodded in response and was confused by the other's expression, was he that surprised?

"You look…You look beautiful." Flippy confessed before placing a hand over his mouth and looking away. Flaky blinked before letting out nervous giggles and putting her hands on her warm cheeks. Flippy managed to compose himself soon after and grabbed Flaky's hand before going inside the venue. Flaky let out a surprised squeak at the feeling of their hands making contact, and she stumbled to keep up with the other in sandals. She knew she should have practiced walking in them before coming.

The place was bustling with people from all age groups, and music played loudly over the speakers while people were hollering from behind their designated booths. It was all a bit overwhelming for Flaky. Fortunately, Flippy kept her close to him the entire time so as not to get lost, although Flaky wasn't sure if that did any good for her emotional state. But one thing was for sure: she was extremely happy.

"Hey Flaky, look at this!"

Flaky looked back up at Flippy to see the other holding a Hyottoko mask against his face. Flaky stared with wide eyes before she burst into laughter. "Should we buy two?" Flippy asked with a broad smile. Flaky muffled the rest of her giggles behind her palm and nodded quickly. Flippy bought two of the Hyottoko masks and gave one to Flaky while wearing the other one on the side of his head.

They continued going deeper into the venue and tried the things sold at various booths. Flaky ended up sharing a bowl of shaved ice, and the two of them both winced from the cold at the same time, before glancing at each other and laughing to themselves. Flaky allowed Flippy to finish up the rest of the shaved ice as they continued down the booths, and then something caught her eye. Her eyes widened when she saw a small tank surrounded by children we were trying to scoop up goldfish.

"Wanna do that?" Flippy's voice caused Flaky to flinch, and she glanced up in embarrassment before nodding meekly. Flippy discarded the empty bowl and spoons before taking Flaky's hand and leading her towards the tank filled with goldfish. Flaky had to force herself to calm down the entire way there, but when she arrived at the tank, she couldn't suppress the squeal of excitement that escaped her lips. Crouching down, Flaky gazed at the multitudes of goldfish that swam around in the shallow waters and watched as children tried scooping them up one by one. One of the children managed to land two at once and quickly put them into his bowl before jumping up in excitement and hollering to his mother at the back. Flaky felt a bit embarrassed to be at the level of children, but Petunia always told her she had the mental age of an eight-year-old, whatever that meant.

"Two please." Flippy talked to the man behind the booth, and he handed them two small paper nets to catch the fish. "You only get one chance, good luck!" The man piped with a hearty voice, and Flaky could feel her quills thinning out in nervousness. "Don't worry; we'll try until we get one." Flippy reassured her, and Flaky flashed a weary smile before taking one of the nets and examining the tank deeply. The fishes were all frantic at this point and swam around quickly. Whenever the shadow of a net hovered over them, they were gone in less than a second. Flaky chewed her lower lip and closely observed the movements of the fish, feeling like a lioness on the hunt. Then, she noticed one fish that was moving slower than the rest, and she took that moment to swoop in and catch it with her net. Without even checking if she got it or not, Flaky submerged the net into her bowl before slowly lifting it back out and looking inside. Her eyes widened when she saw not one, but two goldfishes were swimming around inside. "Flippy!" Flaky called the other's name without thinking, and Flippy looked up from the tank. "I got it!" Flaky announced, and she felt her quills popping out from beneath her hair, piercing a child who was passing behind her. The child let out a loud cry, "Ah! Mommy!" He cried while clutching his arm, and the mother immediately held her child close to her, flashed Flaky an evil look, and pulled him out from the crowd.

Flaky could feel her excitement drop to the pit of her stomach, but when she turned back to Flippy the other stepped closer and examined the bowl with a glisten in his eyes, "You did it, Flaky!" He exclaimed with enthusiasm that matched hers, and Flaky felt her mood lift right back up. She nodded quickly and gave the bowl to the man in charge of the booth, and he put the fishes into a clear bag for her to carry. After thanking the man, Flaky left the booth holding her goldfishes close to her chest.

As they walked along the crowded street, Flaky kept glancing at the goldfishes and smiling stupidly to herself. Flippy commented, "You seem happy."

"I am. This is the first time I ever won something." Flaky admitted, and Flippy's smile grew, "Cute." Flaky blinked at the statement before blushing and tucked some hair behind her ear.

When Flaky looked up from the ground, she realized that Flippy was several people ahead of her. She hurried to try and catch up, but a group of boys ran the opposite direction and pushed past her, causing her to fumble and drop the bag of goldfish. "N-No!" Flaky exclaimed, and then pounced to the floor to protect the bag from getting stepped on. The people skirted around her in confusion, and Flaky breathed out a sigh of relief before getting back up with the bag that was thankfully still safe and leak-free.

However, Flaky had lost Flippy entirely at that point, and tall heads and bodies blocked her view of the road ahead. Feeling panicked, Flaky tried calling the other's name though it fell on deaf ears, and Flaky stumbled around a bit more before she had to retreat to the booths to catch her breath.

"Flippy…" Flaky mumbled and trembled from the thought of getting lost in a festival this big. She glanced to her left, and her eyes widened. Nutty was standing in front of a caramel apple stand, staring back at her with a skewer of dango in his hand. "N-Nutty?" Flaky called the other's name hesitantly, and Nutty's eyes widened as for if he had heard something unexpected.

"Here you go, one caramel apple!" A man handed Nutty the large apple on a stick from behind the bar, and Nutty took it with his free hand before coming over to Flaky. "What are you doing here?" Flaky asked, watching as Nutty alternated between eating the dango and apple. "Visiting," Nutty stated simply, "You?"

"I…" Flaky glanced around one more time, "I came with Flippy, but we got separated." Nutty nodded, "Oh yeah, your boyfriend, right?" Flaky tensed up in alarm and quickly shook her head, "No we—we're not dating or anything." It almost felt like she was putting herself down, but it wasn't as if she was lying.

"Okay," Nutty said, though he didn't sound convinced. "Why don't you just call him?" He saw Flaky hesitate and added, "Don't tell me—you don't have a phone?" Flaky chewed her lower lip, "It's not that…Flippy doesn't have one." Nutty stared at her for a moment before smiling in amusement. He finished up the dango and threw the skewer into the nearest trash bin before taking Flaky's hand, "Come on, we'll look for him together."

"Eh?" Flaky looked up at the other in shock and hurried to catch up with the other's quick strides while clutching her goldfish tightly. Nutty was strangely energetic. Maybe she had the wrong impression about her. As they squeezed through the crowd, Flaky caught an enticing aroma and tilted her head towards the source. She smiled when she saw a booth selling squid, and she gradually slowed down her steps.

Feeling a resistance behind him, Nutty looked back and saw Flaky gazing at the squid booth. Nutty smiled and changed their destination for that instead. "You like this stuff?" He asked as Flaky was taking out her wallet to pay. "Yeah, you don't?" Flaky retorted, and Nutty shrugged, "I only eat sweets." Flaky shot him a strange look before handing over the money, "How do you not get fat? Or cavities?" Nutty shrugged again, dropping the subject right there.

"There you go, miss." The woman handed Flaky the chopped up squid in a container, and Flaky thanked her earnestly before taking a piece with a toothpick. She blew on it a few times and then put the entire thing into her mouth, feeling her quills shiver in ecstasy.

Then the spiciness kicked in.

Flaky spluttered in shock, causing Nutty to turn to her with a concerned expression. "What's wrong?" He asked. Flaky coughed and forced herself to swallow the whole thing despite her mind telling her otherwise. "It's spicy!" She gasped and then broke into a fit of coughs as it felt like lava was traveling down her throat. Nutty blinked before he burst into laughter, hard enough that he dropped to a crouching position. "It's not funny!" Flaky protested amidst her coughs, and she wiped the tears from her eyes before patting the back of her hand against her warm cheeks. "I'm sorry," Nutty giggled as he rose back up, "Your face was just, so cute." The statement caused Flaky to flush. But, the more Flaky thought about it, the funnier the situation seemed.

"I didn't think it would be spicy," Flaky admitted, before hiding her smile behind her hand. Nutty lost it again and laughed while clutching his stomach. Flaky found herself giggling alongside the other, and she realized how nice Nutty's laugh sounded. She felt ashamed for assuming the other was a cold person. Just then, Flaky heard a familiar voice nearby.

"Flaky!" Flippy escaped through the crowd and ran over to the duo, out of breath and sweating through his shirt, "Finally, I found you!"

"Flippy!" Flaky steps closer to the other in concern, "I'm so sorry! Some children bumped into me, and I got carried away in the crowd." She bowed in apology. Flippy let out a tired laugh and patted the other's head, "Don't worry about it!" He looked up and noticed Nutty hanging at the back, "Nutty!" The green-haired boy gave a simple nod of acknowledgment before turning to leave. "Nutty, thank you!" Flaky called behind him, causing Nutty to stop short and glance back. Seeing the flushed and happy expression on Flaky's face made Nutty's heart do weird flips, and he gave a small smile before disappearing into the crowd.

"You were with Nutty the whole time?" Flippy asked as he and Flaky walked further down the street. "Yeah, but we weren't together for very long," Flaky stated, and glanced up at the other. For some reason, Flippy had a sad expression on his face. "I wish…I could have found you sooner." Flippy thought out-loud, and Flaky felt her heartbeat increase despite not knowing why. She merely squeezed the other's hand in reassurance while walking just a little bit closer to the other.

A group of girls rushed past them, whispering about fireworks show that was happening by the ocean at the edge of the venue. Flaky perked up in interest and looked up at Flippy, "They're having fireworks later! Let's hurry—" Just as she took a step forward; she felt something tug her back. Glancing back at Flippy, Flaky's heart dropped when she saw the other's complexion go pale. Worrying that she said something wrong, Flaky stammered for a response before Flippy squeezed her hand tightly, "I'm sorry…It's just…The sound—"

The realization hit Flaky like lightning.

"Ah! Let's do something else, then." Flaky suggested, and began pulling Flippy in another direction. "I…I think I should leave." Flippy admitted, and Flaky looked back with a confused expression. "The sounds, are going to travel. They're most likely going to cover the entire venue." Flippy explained, and Flaky felt the other's hand start to tremble in hers.

"…Then let's go home." Flaky offered, and Flippy gave her an apologetic look.

Once they managed to get past the gates, Flaky breathed in the fresh air and stretched her arms. "I'm sorry, Flaky." Flippy couldn't even make himself look at the other, and Flaky's smile faded as she took a tentative step towards him.

"It's not your fault. Plus, I had so much fun tonight, I'll never be able to forget it." Flaky said as she flashed the other a reassuring smile. Flippy was silent for a moment before he straightened up and smiled back at her, "I'll walk you home."

The entire way back home was silent, and Flaky could make out the faint sound of fireworks from the shoreline, but thankfully it was too quiet for Flippy to hear. When they got to her house, Flaky was about to bid the other farewell until Flippy took out a small bag of colored tissue paper. He reached inside and took out a necklace with a little silver bird on it. "They were selling this at the festival. I thought it might be something you like." Flippy stated with a flushed complexion, and Flaky felt as if her heart was going to leap out from her throat. "It's…It's beautiful." She stated, and Flippy smiled widely at her before stepping closer and attempted to tie the necklace around her neck. Flaky's heart was beating madly in her chest, and she had her eyes shut tight until Flippy spoke up,

"Oh, shit…"

The necklace hung down to the bottom of her chest, clearly several sizes too big for her. Flaky opened her mouth just as Flippy took the necklace off, "Or, we could tie it here." He tied the chain loosely around Flaky's arm and secured it with a knot and then gave an unsure smile. Flaky gazed down at the necklace that was magically transformed into a bracelet, and covered her mouth while giggling,

"I love it."


End file.
